


The First Time Nick Noticed Charlie's Eyes

by KatyaMorrigan



Category: Heartstopper (Webcomic), Osemanverse
Genre: Charlie being an anxious baby, Gay Panic, M/M, Nick making Charlie like himself a bit more, Nick's first inklings he's not straight, Rugby, School Sports, because that's what boyfriends are for, before they start dating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-06
Updated: 2020-11-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:14:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27424030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KatyaMorrigan/pseuds/KatyaMorrigan
Summary: It's Charlie's first rugby match as part of the school team, and he's incredibly nervous. Nick isn't sure why he's so compelled to comfort Charlie, but it's not something he will give up on easily. But will he be too distracted to play properly?
Relationships: Nicholas "Nick" Nelson/Charles "Charlie" Spring
Comments: 6
Kudos: 35





	The First Time Nick Noticed Charlie's Eyes

**Author's Note:**

> Day 6 of my NaNoWriMo writing challenge this year - one oneshot a day, every day for the whole of November. I'm following the SOFTober 2020 prompts by @wafflesandkruge on Instagram to give me some fluffy starting points for the coming month of fics.
> 
> The prompt for today was "tumble".  
> I hope you enjoy!

“Worried about your first school match, Charlie?” Nick asked as they put on their gym kit. He didn’t normally check up on new members like this, but he was the one who had gotten Charlie onto the team in the first place. Besides, Charlie looked so pale that it really seemed necessary to take care of him.

“Do I look it?” he asked, running his hand through his hair.

“You do look a bit like you might faint on the pitch,” Nick admitted. Charlie gave a breathless laugh.

“I promise I won’t do that.”

“If you don’t think you can manage it, just tell Mrs Singh. We’ve got reserves, she won’t be annoyed with you.”

“No, no, I’m good. Sorry.” Nick looked at his nervous face and gave a sympathetic smile.

“I was really anxious before my first game too,” he said.

“You’re so big, though!” Charlie said it without thinking, and clapped a hand over his mouth. “I mean—”

“No, it’s true!” Nick laughed. “I was tall and broad even when I was fourteen, and even then I was so scared of getting knocked about that I nearly didn’t leave the changing room. Mrs Singh had to coax me out from behind the door.

Charlie giggled at that, his momentary embarrassment seemingly gone.

“Did she really have to do that?”

“Yep. That’s what I mean when I say she really wouldn’t be bothered if you had to sit out for the first round, or something. She’s had to deal with so many rugby matches, this is nothing.”

Charlie sighed and bent down to tie up his shoelaces.

“What if I mess up the game for us, though? I don’t want to be the person who means we lose.”

“Are you kidding?” Nick leaned around to look at Charlie. His soft blue eyes were pulled into a tense frown as he glared at his shoes. “Charlie, do you really think you’re gonna be the first kid to ever lose a rugby game for Truham?”

He sighed and shook his head.

“I’m sorry. I-I just really don’t wanna screw this up. I just got on the team, and I’m not the best player by a long stretch, and I’m not really part of you guys—”

“They just haven’t met you yet,” Nick said, finally meeting Charlie’s eye and smiling at him. He got a wan smile in return. “Look, I promise you, you’ll do better than you think. And at the very least, nobody has high expectations for the first game. We’re all still cold and sleepy. Just try not to worry about it.”

Charlie finally laughed aloud. “Really? You’re going to ask that?”

“Worth a shot. Come on, let’s head out. At least you won’t need Mrs Singh to force you to leave.”

There was a genuine smile finally on the other boy’s face, and Nick was pleased. He understood the nerves, absolutely, but Charlie seemed so consumed by them that it was slightly concerning. It was a lot to be feeling before an interschool rugby game, anyway.

They headed onto the pitch together, Nick putting in his mouth guard and giving Charlie a goofy grin with his rubber-coated teeth that made Charlie yelp with laughter. It was a misty day, and already Nick could feel his legs getting damp from the dew kicked up on the field. The other school was already waiting, chatting idly with each other while shifting from foot to foot to keep warm. They were from the other boy’s grammar school in the area, all large young men with muscular arms and broad chests. Nick took a second to size them up, and work out who he could win against in the chance of a scrum. A lot of them were similarly built to him, but there were plenty of others who were leaner and quicker. Those would be Charlie’s opponents.

“Come on, boys!” Mrs Singh called out from the side of the pitch, her arms wrapped around herself and her whistle dangling from its usual string. Nick gave her a thumbs-up as he approached, and she returned it with a conspiratorial wink.

He made his way over to the home side of the pitch, and got into line with the other forwards. Omar gave Nick a clap on the back as he approached, and flashed him a mouth-guard smile as well.

“Ready for this?” he asked.

“Ready as I’ll ever be. I think some of those guys could kill me.”

Omar laughed. “You’re bigger than most of them, you’ll be fine.”

“I’m worried about Charlie,” he admitted.

“Why’s that? He nervous?”

“Yeah, but like, way more than I’d expect him to be. And he’s so tiny!”

“Not as tiny as you think,” Omar said. “He’s only a little bit shorter than you, and you’re a giant anyway. He’s just lanky as hell instead.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Nick laughed. “And I’m not a giant.”

“Why do you think you’re right in the middle, man?” Omar teased, poking Nick in the side. He yelped and shoved Omar as well, dissolving into more giggles. Nick turned away as they got back into position for the start of the match, and saw Charlie looking at him intently. It was an odd look; intense, but far away, and Nick felt strangely vulnerable. But maybe Charlie just felt awkward about the eye contact. He was definitely still nervous about the match. Nick threw him a wave over his shoulder, and Charlie gave a weak wave in return.

The rugby captain hadn’t been chosen yet, so Mrs Singh randomly called on Christian to do the ball toss in order to decide which team went first. Unfortunately, the muscular guy from the other school caught it almost instantly, so Nick prepared to take a lot of battering in order to stop them from scoring.

Mrs Singh blew the whistle, and the game began. Nick worked as hard as he could, trying to block the other team and get the ball back, but it was proving very difficult. His lungs hadn’t warmed up to the cold air, and pretty quickly he was gasping. Omar helped him with some clever tackles, and Sai managed to throw the ball to Charlie, who looked practically green in the face at the thought of having to participate in the match.

“Go, Charlie!” Nick bellowed, going to run with him, but realising that the other boy was halfway up the pitch already, sprinting like his life depended on it. He may not be bulky like most of the other rugby players, but Charlie’s lithe form made it far easier to slip by the slower opposition and carry the ball further than they could reach. Nick watched, impressed, as Charlie slid past the final few backs on the other team and touched down. Mrs Singh blew the whistle and gave a short round of applause for Charlie, who jogged back to the middle of the pitch with the ball in hand. Nick noticed he had gone pink with the exertion, and his eyes were bright. So much for being nervous about the game – he was killing it!

“Can’t believe you were scared of ruining the match,” he said to Charlie as they walked back to their places, and Charlie gave a modest chuckle, looking away.

“I am fast,” he said reluctantly, and Nick laughed.

“That looked like it hurt. Is it painful for you to accept you’re good at something?” he teased.

“I’m not that good,” Charlie protested, but Nick was already talking over him, listing excessive praises that made Charlie blush even more. It was very fun, and Nick didn’t even realise that they were holding things up until Mrs Singh called out to them.

“Nick! Charlie! Be quiet over there!”

“Sorry, miss!” he yelled back, looking back at Charlie with a friendly grin.

They got back into position, preparing for another round, and got beaten fairly by the other team. Another two rounds, another even split of points, each time exhausting Nick more and more. The other school were far faster on average than him, and although the backs were more than able to outsprint them, it was very tiring for him and the other forwards to try and keep up with the constant passing of the ball back and forth. Fortunately there were very few scrum opportunities, and he didn’t have to worry about getting his limbs broken by the huge guys he was playing against.

They took a short break to have some water and talk about strategy in the final few rounds, and then Nick was back on the pitch. He hadn’t had the chance to check up on Charlie beyond the first round, but it was safe to say that the latter had cheered significantly since his first amazing score. Nick kept turning around just to make sure that he still seemed to be okay, and had to remind himself that Charlie could take care of himself. He needed to focus on winning the game.

The whistle sounded and another round began, with Sai immediately taking the ball from the opposition and passing it up the rows of boys with ease. Nick followed behind at a good pace, trying to keep a good front against the other team. Someone got tackled, and the ball started to make its way back down the pitch.

Nick jumped into action, preparing to tackle the opposition member with the ball, and managed to take him down. Charlie slipped by and grabbed the ball, starting up the pitch again like a bolt of lightning. Nick got up from the ground and watched as the other boy sailed on up the field, his hair flying in the wind. He looked so natural moving like that, focused on one thing, his lean figure finally looking like it was in the right place. Nick could see Charlie’s face right now, that expression of determination, the small furrow between his brows, and those blue eyes fixed on the goal.

In fact, Nick was so involved in watching Charlie that he didn’t see one of the larger boys tackle him from behind, throwing him to the ground and smacking his head on the frozen ground. Nick gave a cry of pain as he went down, trying to stand up immediately but finding that his head throbbed the moment that he lifted it. He groaned, shoving at the other player who was quickly being admonished by his own coach.

“Nick! Are you alright?” He heard Charlie yell from fairly far away, but before Nick could register what was happening, Charlie’s face was above his as he knelt down beside him.

“Are you okay?” Charlie asked again breathlessly, reaching for his forehead but pulling back.

“Not particularly,” Nick hissed in reply, wincing as he tried to sit up again and felt his stomach lurch. “Bad bump to the head.”

“Don’t try to move,” Charlie insisted, “If you’ve got concussion, it’ll make it worse.”

“Pretty sure I don’t have concussion.”

“Just stay there, Mrs Singh is coming over.”

Nick lay back on the grass, sighing heavily as he looked up. The sky was clearing from the earlier mist, and now a pale sky was visible beside Charlie’s black curls and concerned expression.

“Told you you’d do well,” Nick said, trying to think of something to say as his friend waited by him, “You’re not the one in the mud.”

“Well, I kind of am.” Charlie smiled. “I’m not completely in it like you are, but my knees look pretty bad now.”

“Did you manage to score?”

“Is that really what you’re worried about right now?”

“Not really. But I want to know.”

“Yep. We won!”

“You won us our first match of the year!” Nick exclaimed, sitting up and raising his fists in the air before groaning again and holding the back of his head.

“Idiot,” Charlie said fondly.

Nick just laughed, looking up again from the mud at Charlie’s soft expression, and his delicate smile against the blue sky. _Like his eyes_ , he thought distantly, before wondering why he was suddenly concerned about the colour of his friend’s eyes.

Not that it mattered. Mrs Singh came over and informed him about the trouble that the other player was in for making an unnecessary tackle and injuring him before helping him up and leading him back to the changing rooms. Charlie helped to support him on the way there – Mrs Singh wasn’t quite tall enough to manage Nick’s bulk alone – and stayed as he showered the mud out of his hair.

He was sat awkwardly on the changing room benches when Nick came out, back in school uniform with a towel around his shoulders.

“Oh, you’re bleeding!” Charlie said, getting up and walking over. He cupped Nick’s face in one hand, tilting his face down to look at the scrape across his temple.

“Didn’t realise I went down that badly,” Nick mumbled, aware of how close Charlie was. His face was so near again, and his hands were on his cheek.

“It doesn’t look bad, but you should probably go to the nurse’s room and get a plaster on it.”

Charlie let go and stepped back, and Nick was filled with a feeling of relief and sudden emptiness. Did he want him to stay like that? Why was that so weird?

“Wanna miss some tutor time and come with me?” he asked. Charlie grinned.

“Yep, I’ll help you get bandaged up, wounded soldier.”

“I didn’t even help much in the match!”

“You did! You helped get the ball to me for that final touch-down.”

“So you admit it – it was your action that made us win.”

“Well, yes, technically—”

“—Not just on a technicality! You won it for us, Charlie Spring. Just be nice and say you’ve done well. For me?”

“I don’t want to!”

“Come onnnn!”

“Not sure I want to come with you to the nurse anymore.”

Nick went to tackle Charlie and he slipped away, laughing. Nick grinned wider and followed him, admiring the way his dimples appeared in the sunlight.

**Author's Note:**

> I found out about Heartstopper a fair while ago as I fell into the Osemanverse and started to discover the network of interwoven stories that Alice has written, but I only started reading it last week. When I say I started reading last week - I mean I read all available updates and mini-comics last week, and am now starved for content on my lastest obsession. I just adore these boys, and I hope I've done them some justice with this. 
> 
> Tomorrow's prompt is "snow", and it will be a Six of Crows Helnik fic.


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